McAdam: Five second-half keys for Red Sox, including bolstering the bullpen and keeping regulars fresh

The All-Star break has come and gone. On Thursday night, the Red Sox will travel to Detroit and start the second half of the season Friday.

The Sox built the best record in either league leading up to the break, and are on pace to eclipse the franchise mark for most wins in a season. But securing first place will not be simple. The Yankees sit 4.5 games behind, with three games in hand, and are just three games back in the loss column. The teams will meet 10 more times, including six games in the final two weeks of the season. So there's ample opportunity for the Yankees to close the gap.

Until then, here are five keys for the remainder of the regular season.

1. Beef up the bullpen.

Red Sox relievers performed well in the first half with a 3.27 ERA, fifth-best in baseball and third-best in the American League. Craig Kimbrel (30 saves in 32 chances; 0.890 WHIP) is a lock-down closer and Matt Barnes (.166 batting average against) has emerged as a quality, high-leverage reliever.

But there are concerns. Joe Kelly has an ERA of 9.22 since June 1, and no one else in the pen has sustained big-game experience. It's worth noting the Sox have been outscored 48-36 in the eighth inning, where, particularly in the postseason, so many games are won or lost.

And make no mistake: it's the postseason the Red Sox should be focused on. Take a look at the bullpen capabilities of the last few champions: All of them had multiple late-inning options from which to choose.

As currently constituted, the Red Sox don't have that. They need to acquire someone with experience in high-leverage spots, preferably one with postseason experience. Zach Britton and Jeurys Familia fit that description and are very much available as rentals.

2. Address the starting rotation.

Injuries have hit the Red Sox' rotation at precisely the wrong time. Eduardo Rodriguez won't return until well into August at the earliest. Steven Wright is still battling knee woes. Drew Pomeranz took a big step forward Wednesday night when he allowed just one run in six innings in a rehab start for Pawtucket, but that was his first strong outing in four tries there.

If Pomeranz can come back soon and fill one of the vacancies in the rotation, the Sox would be in good shape. They could somehow patch-and-fill the fifth spot between Brian Johnson and Hector Velazquez. But having both in the rotation at the same time represents a double whammy since it thins the bullpen depth while also placing more of a burden on the rest of the relievers to provide more innings during those starts.

Obviously, the Red Sox lack much inventory in their farm system, and might be hard-pressed to deal for a reliever. Adding a starter to their shopping list would only further stretch them.

It's possible that they could get a veteran back-end placeholder, in the mold of Doug Fister from a season ago. If not, Pomeranz will need to return and be effective.

3. Continue to monitor the workload of veteran starters.

The Red Sox wisely developed a program in spring training to limit the toll on their starters. Throughout the first half, they gave Chris Sale, David Price and Rick Porcello extra days of rest when the schedule allowed.

Now, that same approach becomes even more imperative. All three starters are over the 100-inning mark at a time when teams would like to avoid having their pitchers get to 200 innings.

The break will help offer a reset for the rotation. Other than his one inning of work in the All-Star Game, Sale will get 11 days between starts, while Price will get seven and Porcello will get nine. The latter, in particular, could use the rest, having pitched to a 5.14 ERA since mid-May.

Going forward, the Sox will have to find a happy medium for the three, as the team very much wants to win the division to escape the prospect of a one-and-done, wild-card game, but still has to focus on the need to have its top starters at full strength for what could be a long October.

Taking advantage of an off-day in August to plug in a spot starter and provide two extra days of rest -- as the team did back in June, right when rotation had hit something of a wall -- would be a good idea.

4. Don't run the regulars into the ground.

For the most part, the outfielders are young -- all in their 20s -- and healthy. But in the infield, the Sox need to make sure a couple of players get an occasional breather. Xander Bogaerts has a history of running out of gas in the second half. Since returning from a DL stint in April, Bogaerts has started 70 of the last 73 games. The Sox have options on the roster (Brock Holt, Tzu-Wei Lin and even Eduardo Nunez) who can fill in for a game here and there to keep Bogaerts fresh; they shouldn't be afraid to do so.

Mitch Moreland is another who needs some time off. Moreland has never played as many as 150 games in a season, and while the presence of Hanley Ramirez earlier in the year limited his games played -- he appeared in 77 of the first 98 games in the first half -- it would be wise to ensure that he doesn't get overexposed in the second half. The presence of Steve Pearce allows for an occasional day off, as does the periodic availability of Sam Travis.

5. Keep beating up on the bad teams.

With a few exceptions (losing a series at home to the White Sox last month), the Red Sox have successfully steamrolled the many weak opponents they've played. For instance, Boston is a combined 19-4 against the two losing teams in their division, the Orioles and Blue Jays, and while they've come under criticism for building their record on the backs of tomato cans, they need to continue this trend.

More weaklings await them in the start of the second half, with 10 straight against losing teams (Tigers, Orioles, Twins).

There will be plenty of challenges on the schedule. Ten games remain with the Yankees, as well as three with Houston, seven with Cleveland, three with Atlanta and four with Philadelphia -- all playoff contenders.

But by winning the games they should, the Sox will give themselves some breathing room when it comes to playing quality opponents.